


sing to me, cuz i'm not doing well

by FREE_FREEMAN



Category: Half-Life VR But The AI Is Self Aware
Genre: Based on a Tumblr Post, Benrey and Forzen Are Siblings, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, One Shot, Pre-Canon, Short One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:07:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,092
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27237784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FREE_FREEMAN/pseuds/FREE_FREEMAN
Summary: 3/3 BABEY!!! now i can work on the half life wips i have :Dso uh yeah um. benrey forzen brother momence??? yes please!title is based on Sing to Me by MISSIO
Relationships: Benrey & Forzen (Half-Life), Benrey & Tommy Coolatta
Kudos: 30





	sing to me, cuz i'm not doing well

**Author's Note:**

> 3/3 BABEY!!! now i can work on the half life wips i have :D
> 
> so uh yeah um. benrey forzen brother momence??? yes please!
> 
> title is based on Sing to Me by MISSIO

“what the fuck do you _mean_ you’re leaving???”

Benrey followed as Forzen went around their small apartment, collecting the few things important to him and putting them in a backpack. He pointedly ignored his brother as he reached into his dresser and stuffed some clothes into the bag as well.

“cmon, dude, what’s goin’ on?” Benrey grabbed Forzen by the arm, but the larger man roughly pulled away, still refusing to answer. “please? please? cmon, i’m kinda freaking out here.”

Forzen stopped, letting out a heavy sigh. “I’m joining the military,” he said bluntly, grabbing a jacket and slinging it over his shoulder. He didn’t need it, he could regulate his body temperature better than his younger brother, but it was a mild comfort to have it on him.

“y… dude, you’re joking, right?” Benrey cracked a wry smile, tugging at the sleeves of their sweatshirt. “please? this-this is just a joke… right?” When Forzen didn’t say anything, their smile morphed into a pained frown. “you… no, you can’t just fucking leave, man, what the hell?”

“I want to graduate, Benrey, this is my only option.”

“we don’t _need_ school, you can just drop out!”

“I want to actually get somewhere in this world, and honestly, I’d prefer not to manipulate time and space to get it.”

“we don’t _need_ to get anywhere!”

“Well, maybe I want to see what this world has to offer!”

“well, maybe i don’t want you to fucking die!!!”

And now Benrey was crying. White tears flowed from their eyes into the air, dissipating after a few seconds. Forzen sighed, setting his bag on the floor and pulling Benrey into a hug. The little brother gripped his shirt, growing extra arms just to hold on tighter.

They stayed like that for a while, and Forzen’s thoughts began to run. As much as they had their… disagreements (they would never forget the entire year they spent not speaking to each other over gaming YouTubers), they were brothers and they cared about each other. Forzen didn’t know how long he would be gone, or even if he would ever come back. He knew Benrey would be okay on their own. They had their own job, and they talked about someone named Tommy a lot.

Yeah… they would be fine.

* * *

It was a week since Forzen left. Benrey hadn’t slept, like, at all, opting to stay up and play whatever shitty games they had to distract themselves. They had a pounding headache and they didn’t know why. They were running on empty, and it was showing.

They’d been threatened to be fired twice already for showing up late and falling asleep on the job. They always said they didn’t need sleep, but that was a lie. They liked sleep, but they liked distraction more. This week was shit. They needed to talk to someone, but they didn’t  _ want _ to. They didn’t want to be psychoanalyzed or end up crying on the floor in front of everyone. So their plan was to continue to bottle that shit up until it went away.

They were currently sitting on the floor of the breakroom, arms resting on their knees, staring at a snail. “How did it get down here?” a reasonable person might ask. Doesn’t matter, it’s here. There’s nothing they could do about it. A snail was down here, thousands of miles beneath the surface of this wretched planet, just living its life. Effervescent.

They were so distracted by the snail that they didn’t notice the tapping of shoes and an accompanying clicking of claws making their way down the hall and into the breakroom.

“Benrey?” They jumped, nearly crushing the snail with their hand. A giant golden retriever approached them slowly and they reached out to pat her soft head. They glanced up at her owner, who was staring at him nervously.

“B-Benrey, I haven’t seen you in- in a week.” Tommy hovered near the microwave, not wanting to invade their space.

“yeah, i’m good,” they lied. They cracked a smile that didn’t reach their eyes. “better than ever. 10/10, shit’s epic, bro.”

Tommy’s brows furrowed. “A-are you sure? I heard you, um, you keep falling asleep on- on your shift. A-and showing up late. You c-could lose your job!” Benrey cringed internally. God, Tommy really knew how to find information, didn’t he?

“i mean… maybe.” They shrugged, trying to appear as nonchalant as possible. “‘s fine, i can always find another job.”

Tommy visibly winced. “Th-that’s not exactly… I’m m-more worried about you sl- falling asleep on the job.”

Benrey snorted. “who are you, my boss?”

“You… you’re not sleeping a-at night, are you Benrey?”

They coughed up bubbles of teal, almost choking on the sensation. Glancing up at Tommy’s disappointed face, they knew they’d been caught.

“Y-you know you can tell- talk to me, right Benrey?” He lowered himself to the floor, sitting criss-cross on the cold tile.

The alien chuckled nervously. “haha, what if i don’t want to though? that’d be kinda fucked up, wouldn’t it?”

Tommy was silent, just staring at them with an unreadable expression. Benrey immediately got the overwhelming feeling that they had fucked up irreversibly.

Then, faster than they could even perceive, they were enveloped in a hug. A warm one, one that smelled sweet like soda and faintly of metal. And Benrey never wanted to be let go.

Within seconds the small breakroom was filled with sweet voice the color of carnations, freshly fallen snow, and sunset gold. All of the feelings they’d bottled up for the past week came flooding out all at once. Tommy never let go throughout it all, making soothing noises and providing as much comfort as he could.

By the end of it all, Benrey found that they didn’t necessarily feel better. Closer to… empty. Still, empty was better than full of negative emotions, right? Sunkist had shoved her way between them and was currently laying across Benrey’s lap, nudging at their hand with her nose. They smiled softly, scratching behind her ear absentmindedly. They sighed, letting out some pale gold sweet voice.

Tommy perked up at the surprisingly familiar color. “I’ve never seen that one b-before. What d-does it mean?”

Benrey chewed at the inside of their cheek. They were never really good with describing what the different colors conveyed. “uh…it means i feel like. safe? good. i feel good being here. with you. and gamer dog. i feel safe.”

Tommy made a mental note: “Yellow like golden fur means ‘I feel safe and secure.’”

**Author's Note:**

> White as snow = Please don't go  
> Teal = surprise  
> Carnation = I miss them  
> Gold like a fading eve = I’m so scared that you will leave
> 
> the post i made that inspired this: https://free-freeman.tumblr.com/post/629832186887012352/thinking-abt-benrey-and-forzen-and-how-in-my
> 
> free-freeman.tumblr.com <\- yell at me :]


End file.
